Betrayed: Book One
by Luaithreach
Summary: After the dragon attacked Lake Town and the people fled to the lake shores, Kili and Fili and Bofur and Oin must make the trek to the mountain where the dragon sickness has taken many. And will continue to take more. ON HIATUS
1. The Introduction

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own The Hobbit. I wish I did. Our only wish to catch a fish, so juicy sweet! Ugh. Fish. I don't like them as food. As pets, they were pretty interesting. RIP Saoirse, Clíona and Rain. Yes, I had a fish called Rain. I didn't name him. At least, I think it was a him. I had partial ownership over Rain, because I didn't want another fish after my first two died and my parents forced me to have a pet. My brother (who was, like, two) named him.**

**Getting off topic. The point is, I don't own Hobbit.**

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The town was burning. The town was burning!

Wasn't wood a bad thing to build a town from? Especially if the town was the closest place that anyone lived to mountain which was inhabited by a dragon? A mountain inhabited by a fire-breathing dragon?

People were screaming, children were crying, but above that the dragon roared. And with his roar, more flames consumed the town. The town made of wood.

Sometimes men were so clever, sometimes not. Building a town from wood was one of those not clever times.

People were running, away from the flames, away from the town, away from their homes. They ran to the boats. Surely there weren't enough to bring the entire population of Esgaroth to the shore?

Bard stood holding a great yew bow. He had notched his last arrow, a black arrow. He pulled the bowstring back to his ear. A thrush had told him of a missing scale. A missing scale would be the dragon's only weakness. He had one chance. One chance. He could not fail.

His hands were shaking. He was scared. Terrified. Not scared for himself, not of his death, no. He feared for the lives of his children, for Sigrid and Bain and poor little Tilda. They would have been too young to die. The dragon may have taken him but if he were to survive and one of his young ones didn't, he wouldn't know what to do. He had already lost his wife, he simply could not have lost any of his children.

Bard had pushed them out the door, telling them to brave the Orc-infested streets and to find a boat and head towards the shore. Hopefully they would be safe there. Hopefully. Tilda had come to her father, looking for reassurance and had been pushed away and ordered to follow her older sister and brother. They had brought the dwarves with them. Well, it was more that the dwarves had followed them rather than the children had brought them along. One was wounded, one was kind of old, one with a strange hat and one that was heir to the throne of Erebor. The wounded dwarf was his brother, who was third in line for the throne.

That is where the story starts. Actually starts. What you just read, it's called an introduction.

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**:P**

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Tilda was crying very loudly. The poor little girl, all she knew was that the dragon was coming, the dragon was going to kill them and that her father was still in the town. And that he was probably going to die as well. She was so young and she had already lost her mother already. She had been four when their mother had taken ill and died. And now Sigrid was there, in the boat, unconscious. Sigrid, the sister who had taken her mother's place, was lying unconscious in a boat with a dwarf fussing over her. Her blond hair was turning red from her blood that was pouring from the slash that graced her forehead, her dress was stained from the stew she had been preparing for their dinner and also from blood.

The dwarf doctor frowned and shook his head. Not good. Sigrid was probably going to die and it as all Tilda's fault! She hadn't wanted to leave her father. She had grabbed him and begged him to come with them, or to let her stay with him. And he had refused. He had pulled her arms from his waist and pushed her out the door, telling her to stay with Sigrid and Bain, no matter what. Bain had lifted her up and slung her over his shoulder because she had refused to walk away from her father. And Tilda had grabbed the door frame, screaming at the top of her lungs that she "Would not go without Daddy". That is what drew them. Orcs. If she hadn't screamed, maybe they wouldn't have found them.

Sigrid had gently plucked her little sister's fingers from the door frame and told her that their father would join them in a while. But Sigrid hadn't looked at her eyes, so she had been lying. Sigrid never looked at someone's eyes if she was lying. But then she had repeated it and she _had _looked at her eyes. Sigrid really believed their father would live. So Tilda had quieted down and stopped struggling. And after a minute Sigrid had told Bain to put her down because she knew that Tilda would walk without struggling.

That was when they were joined by the dwarves. The dark haired one, the one who had been lying on their kitchen table and screaming was being carried in the arms of the elf with red hair. The one the dwarf had called Tauriel and asked if she could have ever loved him. The other three dwarves were trailing the elf the way children followed their mother.

That was when it happened. An Orc, ugly things, had jumped down off of a roof and held a sword in front of Tilda. Who then stopped walking. And Sigrid pushed Tilda to the side and took the blow to the head, with the hilt of the sword, that had been meant for her. And Sigrid had collapsed. Tilda had run to her side and left Bain with the Orc. And whilst the dwarves had no weapons, between the three of them (the one in the elf's arms had been unconious at the time) had been able to take the Orc's weapon and decapitate him.

Bain and the blond dwarf had picked up Sigrid and carried her to a boat. The elf had put the unconscious dwarf in the boat too and left. Everyone else had piled in to the boat and the blond dwarf and the dwarf with the funny hat had taken up the oars. The dwarf that seemed half deaf had started examining Sigrid and Bain had pulled his little sister in for a hug. He had whispered soothing things in her ear and smiled at her.

But she could see the dragon in the sky. He had roared and flown over the boat. And she had screamed. And then the dragon had turned around and flown back to Esgaroth.

And that pretty much brings us up to date. Well, not really since this is written in the past tense, but up to date to where we were at the beginning of this chapter, if that makes any sense. And by the way, that was another part of the introduction.

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**So, hey!**

**Thanks for taking the time to read the first chapter (the introduction :P) of this story.**

**I'm not sure what age Tilda is (I've heard she's supposedly twelve, but given her actions in the movie, I'm not sure and, trust me, I know how a twelve year old acts, since I have the mind of a twelve year old) so I've decided to make her somewhere around nine. And this story is not centred around Bard and his children, believe it or not. *Cough-Durins-Cough***

**Review? For my three dead fishies? They died like three years ago, but still! They would have wanted them. If they had know what reviews are.**

**Luaithreach-Out (xxx)**


	2. Chapter 1

It smelled like something was burning.

Kili opened his eyes. His hair was in his eyes. And his mouth. Why was his hair in his mouth?

He was lying on his back in a boat. Where was the boat? Well, in water pretty obviously. How had he gotten from Bard's kitchen table to a boat? Why had he been on the kitchen table in the first place? Why had he not been in the bed? He remembered the bed quite well. He also remembered the orc that had banished him from the bed. Ugly thing.

Why was he in a boat anyway? He sat up. Or at least, he attempted to sit up. There wasn't much space for him to shift positions in the little boat. Fili and Bofur were at the oars, the boy... Bain? and had his little sister, Tilda in his arms. The older sister? Where was she? Where was Oin? Oin had stayed, hadn't he? He hadn't gone with the company, had he? No he had stayed with him. Kili could remember that.

Kili sat up properly. Somehow, no one noticed. He leaned over and slid his hands over his brother's eyes. Fili was still unaware that his younger brother had woken. He just sat there going through the list of people who would do such a thing, excluding is unconscious brother.

"Guess who," Kili said in a singsong voice.

"I'm trying. Kee?' he replied in a similar tone.

"Well done, Fee!" Kili said dropping his hands from his brother's eyes.

"You're awake!'

"No. I'm a ghost. Kili's still asleep."

"Ugh. You're so childish. We have no time to play," Fili said looking up at the dark night sky.

"And would you care to explain why? I would quite like to know. The last thing I remember is being on a table. And before that on a bed. Thorin left, didn't he?"

"Kee. The dragon is over there, above Lake Town. And yes, Thorin left. He left you behind. And you were on the table because you jumped off the bed'

"I did not jump. An orc pushed me. I would have stayed on the bed, it was-wait. The dragon's... Where...what? What about Thorin and the others?"

"I don't know, Kee."

They sat in silence for some time with only the lapping of waves to be heard.

"Fee? My leg doesn't hurt anymore. Why is that?'

"Tauriel healed you. I watched."

"Did she really? Or are you mocking me?"

"She really did. She also carried you to the boat."

"No."

"Yes," Fili said. He turned to see his brother blushing.

"Look! The dragon!" Tilda screamed and pointed. She was barely heard over the roar of the dragon. This roar was not a roar to scare anyone, nor a roar of anger. It was a roar of pain. The dragon fell. He fell on the burning ruins of the town. "Daddy! Daddy!" Tilda cried.

Then nothing. The dragon's dead body pulled the charred remains of the town down to the bottom of the lake. All that could be seen of the town was charred and splintered pieces of wood.

Tilda had tears streaming down her face and was ignoring her brother's attempt to calm her. "Mama's gone, Daddy's dead and Sigrid's..." she cut herself off as her sobs took over and she let herself be pulled in to her brother's embrace.

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"He fell! He fell!" The hobbit, Bilbo Baggins was standing on the ledge by the secret door watching the dragon. He heard the dwarves cheer from inside the mountain. Bilbo entered the mountain. "He fell on top of the town."

None of the dwarves heard him over their own cheers. He sighed. And then started jumping up and down whilst waving his arms above his head. The dwarves quieted down. "He fell on top of the town," he repeated.

All the dwarves stared at him. And then it sank in.

"Oin!"

"Bofur!"

"Fili!"

"Kili!"

The dwarves raced outside, almost flattening poor Bilbo to the wall in the process. All that they could see (if they could even see as far as the lake) were burning pieces of wood littering the lake's surface. Boats were also scattered on top of the water, but none of the dwarves thought that their kin were in any, given Kili's condition. The last time any of them had seen him he had dropped a pile of weapons. He could have only have gotten worse since then, if he was not dead already. Fili would not leave his brother no matter what condition he was in, even deceased, and Bofur and Oin would not have left either of the princes if either still lived.

One by one the dwarves crept slowly back in to the mountain, leaving for to stare at the remains. Gloin, Bombur, Bifur and Thorin. They stood there, just watching. eventually they left the mountain side with tear streaked faces. They were not ashamed by heir crying, for they had lost. Loss is never happy.

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**So, hey! An update! It might be a while before I get another one out since I'm currently suffering from I'm-busy-with-stuff Syndrome. Its a real thing! How do I know? I just made it up. But its still a real thing!**

**Please Review. If you do, you get the satisfaction of knowing that you helped someone today. I know, too cliche. I'll give you a hint as to knowing what will happen if you want one. Only counts if you're signed in, can't be giving people who don't review a reward for something they haven't done, now can I? I guess I technically could but, y'know. And I'm telling you, there will be a-no. Wait. That would be telling :P**

**THANKS TO ANNENOMOUS AND GIRLGEEKJF FOR REVIEWING!**

**So yeah, review and know that I love you (I wouldn't be posting [and you wouldn't be reading this at this exact moment] this if you didn't read and review)**

**Luaithreach xxx**


	3. Chapter 2

On the shore of the lake, with Mirkwood behind them, the people of what had once been Lake Town had built a large bonfire and sat around it, shivering from the cold. Some had taken pieces of wood and tried making shelters. They didn't shelter them from much, the cold rain had passed through the already wet wood and the wind often blew down shelters. Everyone had become accustomed to the sound of wet wood splintering and crashing against itself.

Tilda sat by the fire. Bain had given her his jacket and gone to see how Sigrid was. She would recover. She had already woken, and had been quite confused, but sleep had reclaimed her once more. The dwarves sat in a circle, facing each other. The four of them spoke to each other in their language. Well, three of four spoke. The fourth sat, surprisingly, with his back to the others and was staring up at the sky. Although the night sky was filled with heavy, grey rainclouds, there were holes in the woven blanket of clouds and he stared through the holes and watched the stars twinkle. His thoughts lay elsewhere.

His thoughts lay with the elf maiden with fiery hair who had saved him, and probably many others, earlier that night. Fili had said that Tauriel had returned to the town to help other people from Lake Town after they had gotten in to their boat. No-one had seen her since before the dragon's fall.

Kili's head against his chest as he fell to slumber. He woke up again later when something made him wet. He looked up sleepily and began searching for the source of the water. Standing over him was an elf. A very wet elf. Her clothing clung to her body and her hair had become undone. But her eyes held the same spark of light they always did.

"Tauriel," he smiled.

"Kili," she greeted him. "How is your leg?"

"It's fine, thanks to you." He smiled. "How are you?" He asked quickly.

"I am fine. Cold and tired, but fine," she answered

"Cold? Here take this," he said before standing up and taking off his fur and gave it to the elf who was shivering.

"Thank you." She sat down and patted the ground beside her, telling the young dwarf to sit. He hesitated before he sat down and draped the fur over herself and Kili, not wanting the young dwarf to get cold.

Kili looked behind him and realised the dwarves had fallen silent, not from sleeping but from watching him converse with the elf. Maybe she had saved him and he had asked her if she could have ever loved him, but he had been delirious. Did he actually mean everything that he had said to her? They had hoped not. Kili was a dwarf. And Tauriel was, an elf, one of _Thranduil's_ people. This would not end well. Neither king, Thorin nor Thranduil, would allow them to see each other.

Nothing more was said that night between the elf and dwarf nor the amongst the dwarves until the elf decided to return to Mirkwood.

"I must go. My king will be greatly angered that I abandoned his son to help," she said, looking down at the dwarves.

Fili, Oin and Bofur nodded while Kili looked up at her with his brown eyes begging her to stay.

"Good bye." She handed Kili back his fur, walked away quickly and disappeared in to the shadows of the forest.

"Kee."

Kili turned to face his brother. Oin and Bofur had left them to talk to each other. "Yes?"

"You know Uncle won't allow this," Fili said.

"Allow what?" Kili asked.

"You and Tauriel. You're a dwarf and she's an elf and Uncle and Thranduil _hate_ each other."

"What are you talking about? Me and her? I don't know what you're talking about..." Kili's voice trailed off, leaving him thinking about Tauriel. The way the light bounced off her fiery red hair and the way her eyes sparkled. The way she moved, how graceful she had been whilst battling orcs and spiders. Oh. Maybe there was something Fili was getting at.

"There were things we... _overheard _you saying things to her when you were delirious. You said something along the lines of her walking in starlight in another realm, that it was just a dream and you asked her _if she could have loved you_. You, in your mind, might not know what you think of her, but you heart is telling you that you love her. You seemed happier and more relaxed when you were sitting together or when you were talking to each other. I know you, Kili. I could see that. You love her. You just, might not know it. But I do," Fili said. His blue eyes stared in to Kili's brown ones and he smiled. "Uncle may not allow it, but I think it's rather cute. And to see you happy means a lot. I think it's nice to see my little brother happy, no matter what it is that made you happy."

Kili sat in silence, thinking about what his brother had said. "_What_ did I say to her?" was all that he could say after processing the things Fili had said.

"Something about her not being her and her being far away from you and her walking in starlight in another realm. Then you said 'It was just a dream' and asked her if she thought she could have ever loved you."

"Ugh. Great. She knows that, I think, I love her before I do myself. Being delirious is great. It gets rid of all the secrets you have. Even if you don't know you have them."

"There's no _think_, Nadaith, you _do_ love her, I can see it."

"Since when do you know so much about love?" Kili asked.

"Do you remember Neana?"

"That girl who followed you everywhere? She really irritated me. Her voice was so high pitched and ridiculous, I couldn't stay in the same room as her when she talked," Kili said, recalling the girl that had loved Fili.

"You're just jealous because she had more of a beard than you did. And she-"

"She did not!"

"She did too. Don't deny it, you know the truth."

"She still didn't have more of a beard than me," Kili mumbled.

Fili sighed dramatically. "Fine. Think what you want. But I learned a couple of things from her."

Bain appeared behind them. "We have very little food but the elves are coming tomorrow to help us," he said, "Some people went and gathered and hunted food and we have a stew prepared-"

Both dwarves were on their feet in half a second. "We'll be there in a second," Fili said. He walked over to Oin and Bofur to tell them about the dinner while Kili started limping towards the fire. And the food.

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"I hear you abandoned Legolas today. It is your duty as a member of the guard to protect our people, including myself and Legolas. Why did you abandon him?" Thranduil asked. Tauriel stood before him.

"The dragon was attacking the town. He went after orcs while I stayed behind to help."

"Killing orcs, a mission you started without permission. And you abandoned your mission while my son finished it? You abandoned him to heal a dwarf?" Thranduil asked her. He spoke with a tone that suggested menace.

"And to help the people of the town, my lord. I could not leave them to die," Tauriel said, unafraid of the glare that Thranduil gave her that left most elves quaking. He would do her no harm.

"You could but you wouldn't. You stayed behind to heal a dwarf, _before_ the dragon attacked. I'm afraid I can't allow that. Dwarves are not our friends, nor our allies," Thranduil said, almost spitting the word 'dwarves' as if it were poisonous to say.

"Nor are they our enemies, my lord. There is a darkness growing in Dol Guldur. That is where the spiders are coming from, as are the orcs. The spiders and orcs, they are our enemies," Tauriel said.

"As a member of the guard, you failed to fulfil your duty to protect your prince. I fear that that is not acceptable. A true captain of the guard would do no such thing. I hereby strip you of your position. Now, you are dismissed," Thranduil said with a wave of his hand.

"Thank you, my lord," Tauriel said and bowing to her king. She then turned around and left the king's court. The voice in her head began to swear and curse as the anger welled up inside her. She broke in to a run, headed towards the place she knew she would find Legolas: the training room. When she reached the door she thought for a second before almost throwing the door open. Legolas stood, with his back to her, with his bow raised, an arrow aim at an old target. When he heard the sound of the door slamming against the wall he calmly put down his bow and braced himself before turning to face the anger Tauriel was about to unleash upon him.

"You told him? He stripped me of my position!" She said. Her face was red and she was slowly clenching and unclenching her fists.

Legolas handed her a knife and stepped to the side. She hurled the knife at the target he had been aiming at just seconds before.

"Tauriel. I am sorry that he stripped you of your position but I had no choice. Just after you left, he had ordered that all gates were to be closed. I had them closed but I followed you. Do you think he was only angry with you? He demanded to know everything," he said.

Tauriel started pacing back and forth, a habit from when she got very, very angry.

"Listen. I will speak to my father and see if I can get him to give you back your position. But he has told me that a war is coming. He is under pressure as well. The dragon is dead but now it is a race to the mountain. And there will be a war, Tauriel. A big war."

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**Sorry for disappearing for almost two weeks. My exams finished last week and I've just been lazy. And having a hard time trying to write this because I'm one of those people that starts, like, twenty projects and then never finishes any of them and I just star thinking 'What if I were to put out another story and it were to go like this...'. I have got, like, ten drafts for different stories that may or may not ever be posted.**

**I'll try to update more frequently, but if I ever go two weeks without updating and I'm _not _suffering from exams, feel free to PM me and remind me that I need to do something, because any longer than that would mean I've probably forgotten about this.**

**THANKS TO DRWATSONN, ANNENOMOUS AND GIRLGEEKJF FOR REVIEWING.**

**Please review and have a nice day.**

**Luaithreach xxx**


	4. Chapter 3

A dripping figure emerged from the lake.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" A little girl called before running towards the man. She threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Daddy! You're not..."

"Tilda," he smiled down at her. He lifted her up and held the girl in his arms. He bowed his head and kissed the top of her head before putting her back down on the ground. "No, I survived. Now tell me: where are Bain and Sigrid?"

"Daddy, Sigrid got hurt. She got hurt bad. I think Bain's with her," she said, waiting and watching her father's reaction.

He looked quite panicked, but he managed to hide most of the panic for his daughter's sake. She tended not to respond well when people panicked. "How did Sigrid get hurt, Tilda? Where did she get hurt? Who hurt her?" Bard asked gently.

"We were leaving and and an Orc hit her with the handle-thing of its sword. It hit her in the head. It was meant to hurt me, but she pushed me out of the way." Tilda looked as if she were about to cry, her bottom lip was quivering and tears were welling up in her eyes. "Oh, Daddy. It was so scary. She was bleeding and she was sleeping." She blinked away the tears and sighed. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she smiled. "But she's getting better. She woke up! But she's sleeping again. I was so scared that she was going to die, like Mama and I thoughted you were going to die too. But you're not dead and Sigrid isn't dead."

"Where is she, Tilda? Can I see her?" Bard asked, relieved that his eldest daughter would not die. His family had had a hard time after his wife, the children's mother, had died. It had only been Sigrid who had managed to keep functioning, she had stepped in to take her mother's place. It had been hard for her at first, but once they had grown used to it, it had been much easier, for everyone. Losing Sigrid would be quite like losing a second mother to Tilda.

"She's over here," Tilda said, before running back in to the camp and finding the biggest and strongest shelter: the shelter where the wounded were tended. There were several people inside, at least ten people had been hurt from burns or Orc weapons. There were at least three healers: the two that had been considered doctors in the town and the dwarvish healer. Sigrid lay in the corner with a blanket covering her. A piece of faded blue cloth had been wrapped around her head. Her appeared mouth appeared to be moving and Bain sat beside her, talking to her.

"Sigrid," Bard said.

Sigrid's eyes opened slowly and she looked up and smiled at her father. "Da. You survived. Was it you that killed the dragon?" She asked.

"Aye. How are you? Does your head hurt?" Bard asked.

"I'm tired. And only a little. But I'm fine Da!" Sigrid added after seeing her father's look of concern.

"At least she's awake now. She was asleep until just now," Bain said, standing up to greet his father.

"Indeed," Bard said, reaching out to his son and pulling him in to an embrace.

"Daddy, what's going to happen to us now?" Tilda asked, grabbing her father's wet arm and swinging it back and forth.

"I do not know, I suppose we shall go to the mountain and rebuild both Esgaroth and Dale with the money that that dwarf promised us," Bard said.

"The elves promised to come and help us. They should be here later today," Bain said.

"Good. Now, I suppose I should go over and talk to other people and dry off," Bard said.

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"We need Tauriel as captain of the guard. You have told me of the war that is brewing, we need good leaders; there is no better captain than Tauriel," Legolas said to his father. A great many elves had left the Woodland Realm and were headed towards the refugee camp. Thranduil rode his elk, while Legolas walked at his side, having refused a horse.

"She failed to fulfil her duty. If she failed once she will fail again. We cannot allow someone who is disloyal to lead the guard." Thranduil paused. "Legolas, why do you want to help her? I know of your feelings towards her and she abandoned you. For a dwarf. And still you try to help. Why is that?"

"She is my friend and a good protector of our people. But I do this not for myself nor for her, she is a good leader and will protect our people, even if it leads to her own death. I do this for our people."

"Hm. In any case, I have given the position of captain to Celegeth. And I will not revoke it, for she does not deserve to have it revoked," Thranduil said, using his left hand to gesture at the redheaded elf who rode by his side. Celegeth was strong and a good fighter, but as her name suggested, she was hasty. She often made poor decisions with out thinking the answers through.

"She is hasty, father. Her hastiness could lead many people to death," Legolas muttered. Celegeth was a friend of his, whom he did not wish to offend.

"It could also bring us victory in war. Many hasty decisions made in battle are those that save people," Thranduil argued. "Legolas, I will not give Tauriel her old position back. And that is final."

Legolas sighed. Well, that was that; Tauriel would not be getting her position back. He slowed his pace and let the crowd of elves pass until he Tauriel. She walked up to him and they continued walking.

"I'm sorry Tauriel. My father will not give you your position back, it is Celegeth's postion now," Legolas said.

"It matters not, Mellon nîn. I appreciate the fact that you tried. It is enough for me," Tauriel lied.

Legolas knew she was lying but did not say anything. And so, they walked in silence until they came to the lake shore. It was a pitiful sight. People sat behind poorly made shelters from bits of broken wood. A strong gust of wind tore through the camp and knocked a shelter down. The screams told them there had been people behind (and now under) it. The smouldering embers of a dying fire gave off no real heat anymore.

A man stood up and walked up to Thranduil.

"I am Bard," he said. "I slew the dragon that destroyed our homes. I am a descendant of Girion, the last Lord of Dale. The Master has fled, no-one knows where he is. I have stepped in to take his place."

"We have come to help. We have brought food and blankets and we offer protection," Thranduil said.

"We were attacked by orcs and have several wounded. We have no medicine to help them."

"Then we will provide healers as well."

"Thank you."

"I believe the dwarves were burnt to ashes whilst facing the dragon. I plan to claim some of their riches. You and your people should come as well, the money could be used to rebuilt your town," Thranduil said.

"Yes. However, I know of four dwarves who were of Thorin Oakenshield's company who stayed behind and did not perish. I believe one of them was Thorin Oakenshield's heir."

"I see," Thranduil said looking at the dwarves

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"Kee. The elves are here."

"Tauriel!" Kili said and turned around. "Can you see her Fee?"

"I can see Thranduil." Both dwarves shuddered. "And his son. But not her."

They watched as the elves started handing out food and blankets to the refugees. Kili and Fili eventually found themselves staring at the mountain. Their home, their kingdom.

"Kee? Do you think Uncle and the others..."

"No. They can't be."

"They could. I hope not, but they could."

"They're not, Fee! The can't, they just can't be!"

"But what if they are, Kee?"

"Well, then you're the king. But they're not. I know it. Why do need to think so negatively? Why can't you think positively?"

"I'm not thinking negatively, I'm thinking realistically."

"It's all the same thing."

* * *

**Hey. You. Yeah, you! **

**Hi!**

**Quick not: Celeg means swift, agile and hasty in sindarin and according to:**

** woodelven_ **

**adding "eth" automatically makes a word a female name.**

**THANKS TO ANNENOMOUS FOR REVIEWING**

**Please review and tell me what you think.**

**Luaith xxx**


	5. Chapter 4

Thorin was shifting through the piles of gold. The mountains, rather. It was hard to believe that he couldn't find it. He had everyone else searching for it too. And they still couldn't find it. Most odd. But it had to be there. It wasn't as if it had grown arms and legs and left the mountain.

"Has anyone found it yet?" He called out.

Several "No"s were his replies.

Thorin was working quicker than the others. He had forgotten his nephews and Oin and Bofur while the company mourned them. Thorin didn't care. There was no point in dwelling on the past, wishing to bring back the dead and change the fortunes of the world. Once someone was dead, they were dead. There is no way around it. Death was irreversible, Thorin had learned at a young age. As was the past. So, it was no good to wish to go back, no good to wish for his brother, his grandfather and his father to come back, no good to wish for his life before the dragon attacked. No good in wishing for his nephews, his heirs and princes. No good in wishing to see Fili's golden hair flash in the sunlight, no good in wishing to see Kili's dark eyes staring up at him. No good in wishing for Fili and Kili to come back.

* * *

Fili and Kili were sitting on the ground by a small fire of their own.

"Fee, Thranduil's coming. He looks like he wants to talk. You know, my throat hurts," Kili said, rubbing his throat.

"Of course it does, idiot."

Thranduil was riding his elk to the dwarves, Legolas at his side and was Tauriel trailing the prince.

"I am here to talk about negotiations. I made an offer to Thorin, which he refused. Let's see if you are wiser than him," Thranduil said after dismounting his elk.

"I am Fili, son of Dis, sister-son of Thorin. What offers can you make?" Fili asked standing up to face the elf, even though he was around half of Thranduil's height. Kili stood up beside him, attempting not to let his eyes search for Tauriel.

"There will be a battle for the mountain. I offer you an alliance for all the white gems of the mountain," Thranduil said.

Fili couldn't say anything. Why was he doing this? He wasn't the king. And a battle? How did the elf know that? A battle? He sank in to his thoughts, forgetting of the conversation he was a part of. He was brought back to reality when he heard his brother's voice in his ear. He was surprised to hear Kili talking to Thranduil. Maybe it was better for Kili to talk now, he seemed a bit more tolerant of elves.

"How do you know there will be a battle?" He questioned.

"Those who wanted the riches of the mountain will try to claim it now that the dragon is dead. They believe you to be dead, along with the rest of your company. They know the mountain is unguarded" Thranduil said.

"It is not unguarded. They live. I am sure of it. And even if they had perished, we are still alive."

"None of them could have survived the dragon's wrath. The rest of the world does not know of your survival. They see that the dwarves of Erebor are dead and see that now is the perfect time to take the mountain and claim it's riches," Thranduil said. "You are the dwarf Tauriel stayed behind to heal. The one she lost her position for," he realised.

At the mention of Tauriel's name, Kili began to look around. Kili's reaction told Thranduil everything he needed to know.

"It is as I thought," Thranduil said. "Let me know if you decide to change your minds and accept my offer." He could see that the glare the taller dwarf was giving him meant 'no'.

Thranduil turned around and walked away.

"Fee. Fee. Fee!" Kili almost shouted and grabbed his brother's arm and began to shake it. Why was Fili not responding?

"Hmm?"

"Fee, do you think there really is a war coming?"

"I think there might be. If the company is dead and everyone else thinks we're dead, they think the mountain is theirs. And people will fight each other for the gold. It's more of the dragon sickness," Fili said quietly.

"Well, then we'd better get going then, shouldn't we?"

"Where?"

"The mountain, Fee. Where else?"

"Oh. I don't know. When would be leaving?"

"Tonight."

* * *

**Hey!**

**A new chapter! Sorry it's shorter than usual. And I meant to write it an post it earlier but I wasn't sure how to write the negotiations between Thranduil and our (precious) dwarven princes. Were the characters in character and did it make sense?**

**And what do you think of the new cover image? I drew it myself. I generally find I can't draw so I'm hoping that it looks ok. Does it? Does it like to play? Er, um... I mean, does it look ok? It's just a copy of the mountain in Thror's map. I added filter thingys, to make it more noticeable, if anyone's wondering.**

**THANKS TO DRWATSONN, GEEKGIRLJFK AND ANNENOMOUS FOR REVIEWING! I love you guys!**

**Please review and I shall love you. And be happy.**

**Luaith xxx**


	6. Chapter 5

The sky was black, filled with shining little dots, stars. Night had fallen. The four dwarves had grabbed food and were prepared to leave. They had nothing else to pack, they had no packs and their weapons had been confiscated back in Mirkwood. They were waiting for Kili.

Kili had gone in search of Tauriel. He wanted to thank her. She had, after all, healed him and lost he position as captain as a consequence. The only thing was, it was hard for him to get to her. She was constantly at the blond prince's side, who was always at his father's side. He couldn't get close enough without Thranduil and his son noticing him. The prince had noticed him a long time ago but had said nothing to either Tauriel or his father. At one point he looked around to see whether or not the dwarf was still trying to catch Tauriel's attention when she started talking to him but when he didn't seem to hear her, she followed his gaze to see what was distracting him.

She left her prince to see what Kili wanted.

"Tauriel, we are leaving tonight. I just wanted to say thank you. I'm sorry that you lost your position because of me," he said.

"It wasn't your fault Kili. I chose to stay behind and help. It's my own fault. Why are you leaving?"

"Because if they mountain is empty, we need to get there before anyone else. It's our mountain, our home. It is our birthright, it does not belong to men and not elves." He paused. "But, it's not empty," he added.

"Kili, none could have sur-"

"They did!" Kili interrupted her. "I know they did."

Tauriel opened her mouth to say something and then closed it again. Dwarves were stubborn. Nothing she said would change his mind or look at it differently. She wasn't going to waste her breath. She sat down and gestured to the ground beside her, asking Kili to sit.

"I know they did," Kili repeated quietly.

They found themselves staring at the dark silhouette of the mountain.

"The stars," Tauriel breathed. "Aren't they beautiful?"

Kili shrugged. Stars were not important to the dwarven race, not important to him.

"You know, the stars make pictures for us."

"Do they?"

"Yes." Tauriel nodded. "There is one of an archer."

"Where?"

"There," Tauriel said, pointing at the sky.

"I still can't see it. Where?" Kili asked, staring at where Tauriel was pointing.

"Here," she said. She took his right hand in hers and curled in all but his first finger. Then she slid her hand down to his wrist and steered it towards a cluster of stars. "Do you see it now?" She asked.

"I _think_ so," Kili said. "Are they supposed to be the bow and arrow?" He asked, his hand tracing the curved shape of five stars.

"Yes," Tauriel said, nodding. "That picture is my favourite one. There are more, of course."

"Like what? And where?" Kili asked. Maybe the stars weren't so far away, the light might not be so cold and remote after all.

"Well, there's a bull... And there's another of a horse with wings, there's one of fish, a wolf, a dove, a dragon, an eagle, a pony, twins, an arrow, a Phoenix, and more! There are all sorts of pictures. And they're all there, above us, watching over us." Tauriel smiled and pointed at every picture she had named. "Aren't they beautiful?" She asked.

Kili could see Fili approaching. He did not want to leave now but he knew he had to. "Yes. They are. But less so than you. Thank you Tauriel, for everything. But now I must say farewell." He replied. And left.

"Thank you Kili," she said quietly, even though she knew he couldn't hear her. "Thank you."

* * *

And... The rocks hit him in the face. Again. He lifted himself up again and heard his brother, Oin and Bofur laughing at him. Again.

"Kili, that's the _fourth_ time you've fallen. We haven't fallen _once _yet. You need to start looking at the ground beneath your feet," Bofur laughed.

"He keeps staring at the stars. He's turning in to one of them!" Fili poked his brother and laughed.

"Well, what anyone expect from a dwarf who's first weapon is a bow and barely has a beard," Bofur said.

"My nephew Gimli is younger by far and he still has more of a beard than Kili!"

"If you haven't noticed, I'm the only one limping," Kili pointed out.

The teasing died down and Bofur and Oin walked on whilst Kili limped behind them again. Fili watched his little brother. Fili smiled at Kili. "What did you talk to her about? From the amount of time you spent saying good bye, I can tell it wasn't just a good bye."

"Hm? Oh, um, she showed my pictures in the stars."

"Pictures in the stars? How are there pictures in the stars? Can you show me one?" Fili asked.

"There's an archer," Kili said, pointing at the first picture that Tauriel had shown him.

Fili stared hard at where his brother was pointing. "I don't see it," he eventually said.

"It doesn't matter."

"Do you think they'll be there?" Fili asked.

"Of course they will be. They have to be," Kili replied.

"They might not be. I mean, the dragon-"

"I don't care about the dragon, it's dead. Unlike the rest of the company. They'll be there. You just wait," Kili said and looked back at the stars. Back at the refugee camp, Tauriel was also staring at the stars.

* * *

**Gosh, romance is hard to write. For me.**

**Hi! Sorry about this being one of the shorter chapters. The dwarves will probably get to the mountain next chapter,**

**How did I do writing the romance? I'm writing without much experience so my research consisted of a lot of other fanfics and the movies. I hope it was ok. There's only so much one can write before it becomes just sappy and unrealistic...**

**Thanks to the people who reviewed! Yup, I'm not going to name them 'cos I'm lazy.**

**Please review and don't worry, be happy. I'm sorry. I just felt like quoting that song.**

**Luaith xxx**


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